Hop Farm festival expansion plans rejected

The Hop Farm festival, the Kent bash which had Neil Young, Primal Scream and Supergrass among the acts when it debuted last July, has had expansion plans rejected by the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council.

Organisers had hoped to extend the event from a one-day festival to a three-day bash in 2009 with camping for the first time, increasing the capacity to 53,000.

However, the council rejected the proposal, saying that as well as objections from local residents, the organisers' application had not featured enough information about their proposal, reports Virtualfestivals.com.

Chief planner Lindsay Pearson said: "The level of information at submission of the licence is not sufficient for us to be satisfied that as a matter of principle the proposal should go ahead."

Promoter Vince Power said in a statement that he still hoped an application to increase the festival's capacity would be approved.

"We are confident that the licence to increase the capacity will be granted," he said.